[UPDATED] Ex-film producer Harvey Weinstein guilty on three counts of sexual assault: US jury

LOS ANGELES – Former Hollywood mogul Harvey Weinstein has been found guilty of three counts of sexual assault in a separate trial here, after being convicted in New York several years ago.

A jury of eight men and four women deliberated for nine days before finding Weinstein guilty. He is currently two years into his 23-year sentence for a rape and sexual assault conviction in New York, reported Associated Press.

According to reports, he is convicted of raping and forcing oral copulation on a woman known as Jane Doe 1 as well as one count of sexual misconduct. Weinstein could face 24 years in prison when his sentencing hearing is done.

Separately, a mistrial was declared when the jury could not reach a decision on several charges involving Jennifer Siebel Newsom – wife of California Governor Gavin Newsom – and another woman.

The jury also acquitted Weinstein of sexual battery of another woman.

In the prosecution’s closing argument, deputy district attorney Marlene Martinez said: “It is time for the defendant’s reign of terror to end. It is time for the kingmaker to be brought to justice.”

Meanwhile, defence lawyer Alan Jackson urged the jury to focus on the evidence rather than the women’s emotional testimony.

“Regret is not the same thing as rape. Fury does not make fact. And tears do not make truth.”

Widespread sexual abuse and harassment allegations against Weinstein exploded in October 2017, and his conviction in New York in 2020 was a landmark in the #MeToo movement.

In June, he lost a bid to have that sex crimes conviction overturned. He has also been separately charged by British prosecutors with the 1996 indecent assault of a woman in London.

In total, nearly 90 women, including Angelina Jolie, Gwyneth Paltrow and Salma Hayek, have accused Weinstein of harassment or assault. 

He says that all his sexual encounters were consensual, and his lawyer told reporters that the Los Angeles accusations “stem from many years ago” and cannot “be substantiated or corroborated by any forensic evidence” or “credible witnesses”.

Before the allegations against him emerged, the producer and his brother Bob were Hollywood’s ultimate power players.

They co-founded Miramax Films, a distribution company named after their mother Miriam and father Max, in 1979. It was sold to Disney in 1993.

Their hits included 1998’s Shakespeare in Love, for which Weinstein shared a best picture Oscar. Over the years, Weinstein’s films received more than 300 Oscar nominations and 81 statuettes. – The Vibes, December 20, 2022